Results 1,901-1,920 of 3,665 for speaker:Seán Power

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: I move amendment No. 11: In page 14, line 31, after "repayments" to insert the following: "and to the Executive's establishment and management of the Fund, if any".

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: I move amendment No. 12: In page 16, line 30, to delete "A" and substitute "An aggrieved". This amendment addresses the issue raised by Deputy McManus on Committee Stage in regard to appeals. Legal advice received from the Attorney General is that no person who is not a party to a decision can appeal a decision made against that party without special permission. This is clear from the rules...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: I move amendment No. 13: In page 18, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: "(16) In subsection (1), "aggrieved person"— (a) in the case of any decision referred to in that subsection, means the applicant to whom the decision relates, (b) in the case of a decision referred to in paragraph (b) of that subsection, includes the Executive if the Executive is not the scheme...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: The Deputy is referring to amendment No. 14.

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: I move amendment No. 14: In page 18, line 36, to delete "the scheme administrator is satisfied" and substitute: "it comes to the knowledge of the scheme administrator". This amendment addresses a concern raised by Deputy McManus regarding the Health Service Executive determining whether a case of fraud has occurred without recourse to the courts. Under the Irish Constitution, only a court is...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: While we have a duty to repay the money, if the Health Service Executive discovered that money had been fraudulently claimed, we also have a duty to make every effort to ensure it would be repaid. The system is similar to other appeal systems, where the relevant person would be notified if money may have been claimed and paid out under false pretences. We would indicate that it had come to...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: It is in response to the Supreme Court decision that we have this Bill before us. A particular group of people were wrongly charged, and we are paying back money to those people. What we are putting in place is legislation to pay such people, with a safeguard provision in the event of people receiving money under false pretences. We would have a mechanism in place to reclaim money for the...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: It is not relevant to what is being discussed today.

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: The Deputy is talking about people who are not entitled to——

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: The Deputy can rant and rave as much as he likes. The Supreme Court made a decision and the legislation has come about on foot of that. It was quite clear about the people who were illegally charged, and they are the people to whom we are repaying the money.

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: I move amendment No. 15: In page 18, lines 43 and 44, to delete all words from and including "and" in line 43 down to and including "satisfied" in line 44.

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: I move amendment No. 16: In page 18, line 45, to delete "the Executive is satisfied" and substitute "it comes to the knowledge of the Executive".

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: I move amendment No. 17: In page 19, to delete line 17 and substitute the following: "(d) the Fund, if any,".

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: Deputy Twomey raised this on Committee Stage and amendment No. 9 will deal with a number of the issues raised about the donations fund. This amendment will allow for the fund to be established and managed by the Health Service Executive. The fund will be also be able to receive donations of property and the proceeds of any dispersal shall be placed in it. The HSE will be able to invest the...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: The Deputies have raised a number of issues with which I will try to deal. I cannot accept the amendment as it would not allow for the appointment of an outside company to administer the scheme. The Government decision allowed for the appointment of an outside company to provide an independent input into the process. The current public tendering process is at a very advanced stage. It is...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: This is not the type of job which the HSE has the necessary expertise to do. Consideration was given by the HSE to the involvement of public sector staff to assist the executive in administering the scheme, but the HSE has indicated that this approach was not taken due to a number of factors. These included potential industrial relations difficulties, the requirement to assign dedicated HSE...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: Yes. Not that we take any comfort from the Supreme Court finding that something was done which should not have been, but the practice was accepted by successive Governments and the majority of the people involved. They felt they were getting good value for the care given. That aside and following the Supreme Court decision, we have a responsibility which we have acted on. By appointing an...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: I move amendment No. 3: In page 6, line 5, after "person" to insert the following: "and in relation to the functions imposed under this Act on the Executive in respect of the Fund". This amendment will allow the Health Service Executive to enter into an arrangement with an agency to administer the donation fund on its behalf. The HSE may employ a fund manager to oversee investment of the fund.

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: l do not accept this amendment because it places a deadline on the period for determining eligibility under the scheme and there may be a delay in certain cases in determining eligibility where an applicant had not applied for a medical card but who fell within the income-means threshold for a medical card. The scope of the scheme will apply to fully eligible people, that is, medical card...

Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Order for Report Stage. (31 May 2006)

Seán Power: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now."